Newsletter Archives

• Special Edition: Building Opal

  Posted on January 3, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 19.01 • 2022-01-03

  EDITORIAL

  

  By Will Fastie

  Our writers have the week off.

  The AskWoody newsletters are published 48 times per year, leaving four Mondays on which we would have no issue. Last year we tried an experiment on one of those off Mondays, reprinting a few articles that we thought you would like to see in one place.

  That experiment went well; your feedback was positive. We ended up doing it twice last year and now we’re doing it again.

  This time, we’re bringing you the four published articles about Opal, my new Windows 11 PC DIY build. That is complemented with a brief new piece in which I describe my lack of progress.

  We hope you like it!

  Read the full AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.01.0 (2022-01-03).
  Read the full AskWoody Free Newsletter 19.01.F (2022-01-03).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, DIY, hardware

• Opal: The Update

  Posted on January 3, 2022 at 02:44 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  It hasn’t gone as smoothly as I had hoped.

  Maybe I’ve just been lucky. Maybe I’m getting older and slower. Or dumber. Whatever it is, I’ve run into some problems getting Opal up and running.

  I’ve done the basic configuration steps and I’ve installed Windows 10 Pro. The computer is running fine. The UEFI BIOS sees all the hardware and I think I’ve done the RAID 1 configuration correctly. So what’s the problem?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.01.0 (2022-01-03).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 19.01.F (2022-01-03).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, ASUS, DIY, hardware, Motherboards

• Opal: Physical assembly – the case

  Posted on October 25, 2021 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  Obviously, everything ends up going into the case.

  Last week, I discussed the assembly steps necessary to prepare Opal’s new motherboard. That process included installing the processor, the cooler’s mount, the RAM, and the SSD. Now it’s time to talk about getting the motherboard into the case, along with all the other components that make up the system.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.41.0 (2021-10-25).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, DIY, hardware, Motherboards

• Opal: Physical assembly – the motherboard

  Posted on October 18, 2021 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  I didn’t realize assembling a PC could be so dangerous.

  Like other folks who put together PCs, I usually call them “builds.” That’s a bit generous. As you’ve seen from my previous installment in this series (AskWoody 2021-08-30), I acquired components. I’m not really building anything — I’m assembling those components into the final product, Opal.

  Once the collection of components is on hand, where does one start?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, DIY, hardware

• Opal: How I planned my new build

  Posted on August 30, 2021 at 02:40 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  I’ll say it again — it’s not the building, it’s the planning.

  A favorite saying about war plans is that they do not survive first contact with the enemy. A slight paraphrase is that a plan does not survive first contact with reality.

  Reality caused me to make a change in my build plan, which is the first thing I want to tell you about. Onyx may be dying.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.33.0 (2021-08-30).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Windows 11 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, DIY, hardware, Intel, PC

• Opal: I’m building a new PC

  Posted on August 2, 2021 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  Hardware for the future. Windows made me do it.

  I wasn’t expecting to need a new computer just yet. My current PC is a bit long in the tooth, but I chose well when I built it and it has lasted six years, still providing the performance and capability I need on a daily basis. I have no urgent need for Windows 11.

  Except that I work for this newsletter.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.29.0 (2021-08-02).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Windows 11 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, DIY, hardware, Intel, PC